Beautiful
by onelastwish-x
Summary: Ron thinks that Hermione is beautiful. What will Hermione possibly do when she finds out? Fluffy and rated for safety.


**Beautiful**

_By: therainbowflower_

…~.~…

_Do I love you because you are beautiful?_

_Or are you beautiful because I love you?_

_-_Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II_, Cinderella_

…~.~…

She is truly beautiful, Ron thinks.

Hermione doesn't need to cake her face in layers of thick gunk or spend hours teasing her hair to perfection. She doesn't have to match her jewelry with her clothes or buff her nails until they shine with a pearly gleam. Hermione just doesn't need to.

The others don't see it. They whisper and gossip and snicker and point. Some will even let out insults in the open, mocking her with a surprising fervor. She'd hear their cruel words, yes, but despite it all, she would walk away with her head held up high.

That's what made her so beautiful.

The way her hair curled into a mass of bouncy ringlets that would spill down her back and swing when she walked. The way her eyes always seemed to have an endless depth, drawing him into their dark deeps. The way when she smiled, her whole face lit up and her eyes would sparkle and her white teeth would peek out from behind her lips.

The way she threw her head back when she laughed, and the way her laughter made his heart soar. The way she always wore the old locket he gave her for her fifteenth birthday, and the way it stood out against the hollow of her neck. The way she would fix his tie, leaning in with a roll of her eyes before pursing her lips in concentration. The way she stood up a little straighter in her seat when she received praise and the way she walked in the halls, taking large and purposeful strides.

The way when they were fighting, her eyes would shine with determined passion and her cheeks would flush. The way she would snap out quick retorts, bringing the argument ever so closer to the finish line. The way that no matter how big of a fight, she would always eventually forgive him afterwards.

It made her so beautiful.

He thought it every day, every second, without even realizing. Subconsciously noting her little nuances and being able to realize immediately when she was in a bad mood, because the small quirks would disappear. Slowly falling ever so deeply in love with her, and totally unable to stop.

…~.~…

He said she was beautiful, Hermione thinks.

She had overheard Ron and the other boys in his dorm discussing the various girls of their year when she stopped by to give Harry a book. She had been able to storm in, insulted, before she heard her own name come up.

"What about Hermione?" Dean had asked.

There was silence and Hermione felt her stomach drop before Ron's unmistakable voice spoke out. "She's beautiful," he said and that it was all it took for Hermione's heart to flutter.

"Yeah," Harry agreed and Hermione is grateful but she knows it's different. Harry says it in a way that's almost brotherly, as if he were speaking about a younger sister. It's sweet and she mentally reminds herself to give Harry a great big hug the next time she sees him, but when Ron says it, there's an inexplicable emotion behind the words.

She's _beautiful_.

Not hot. Not pretty. Not even cute. He picked a word that would forever send shivers down her spine, with the way he said it. He called her beautiful and she ran back to her dorm before throwing herself on her bed and attempting to still her racing heart.

She pulled the curtains around her before drawing her knees to her chest and trying to reason with herself. Okay, so maybe he thinks she's physically attractive. So what? She knew that despite many trashy romance novels, love was made of something deeper.

Except when he said she was beautiful, it reverberated with this undeniable passion. He said she was beautiful and deep down she knew that it was deeper than any physical attraction. When he said she was beautiful, he meant inside and out, referring to even the deepest darkest piece of her soul.

She smiled before drifting asleep.

The next day, she was down for breakfast before any of them. When Harry entered, she gave him that huge hug she had planned on yesterday but when her eyes landed on Ron, she couldn't help but sigh when she saw his tie. "Oh, Ron," she scolded before leaning up to kiss him. Her eyes fluttered closed and she lets herself be lost in a daze of love.

After all, it's beautiful.


End file.
